How Good is San Diego State?

When Brady Hoke left San Diego State in January for his dream job at Michigan, Rocky Long received an offer to come with him. There was already wide speculation that San Diego State's athletic director Jim Sterk would attempt to make Long the replacement head coach of the Aztecs, since Long already possessed experience as a head coach. However, it wasn't certain if Long wanted to be a head coach again. He had achieved moderate success at his alma mater, New Mexico, before eventually stepping down and taking a defensive coordinator position at San Diego State under Hoke.

Hoke wanted Long to know he had the option of coming to Michigan if he wasn't interested in being a head coach. "He called me," Long said. "He knew that Jim Sterk was going to offer me this job. He called me and said, 'Well, what are you going to do?' and I said, 'I don't know.' He said, 'Well, you can come to Michigan if you want.' Now, I don't know if that was being offered a job or not. I don't know if it was going to be the same job there or not the same job, but he did say I could come to Michigan if I wanted to."

It was an intriguing offer, to be sure, but Long couldn't help but think of the program that he and Hoke had worked so hard to establish. He didn't want the Aztecs to start over. Did he consider the Michigan job? Yes. Did being a head coach again have anything to do with Long's decision to stay? "No, I think that was the least of my motivation," he said. "The biggest part of my motivation was that we had kids here who had made tremendous progress from where they had started and I hated to see them start over again."

Rocky Long was instrumental in helping Brady Hoke build the Aztecs' program. Before Hoke and Long arrived, San Diego State was ranked 113th in yards allowed and points allowed. By 2010 (Hoke's second year), the Aztecs were ranked 43rd in yards allowed and 36th in points allowed. They came within five points of beating a TCU team that would go on to whip Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, and after a good 8-4 season, San Diego State faced Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl and won. It was the Aztecs' first bowl victory in 41 years. Hoke took a team that hadn't been to a bowl game since 1998 and put them on the map.

There's no lack of appreciation for what Brady Hoke did for San Diego State. "Hoke's legacy, albeit a short one, is that he brought a sense of toughness to a program that always had good athletes but constantly seemed to underachieve," said Kevin Gemmell for the San Diego Union Tribune.

Hoke's departure for Michigan hardly came as a surprise to anyone in San Diego. When players learned that Michigan had fired Rich Rodriguez, there was a strong sense that Hoke might receive the job offer. As further evidence of this, Hoke had said when he first took the head coaching position at San Diego State that Michigan was his dream job. So, the Aztecs understood why he left but were still sad to see him go.

When Aztec quarterback Ryan Lindley was asked about Hoke's departure immediately after the fact, Lindley said, "You know, you're upset, and it's something that this whole process since last week, since hearing about them firing their coach, you're kind of crossing your fingers, hoping it doesn't go down that way, but you knew it was a possibility. So, I mean, we were all kind of braced for that, and I think with what's gone on in the last twenty-four hours, with Coach Long coming in and Mr. Sterk just acting as quickly as possible, it's been a great situation—considering."

Since most of the players were on break during the hire, Hoke never got the chance to say goodbye to them in person. He was forced to send text messages. "You never do it the right way," Hoke said in a recent press conference. "They were on fall break, so no one was there, only the guys in San Diego. You send a text because you couldn't get them all together. There was a time element and everything, obviously. We had a full team meeting when I left Ball State, my alma mater, that was hard to leave and hard to leave those kids. So we were fortunate to be able to do that. We couldn't do it out there [in San Diego]."

Coaching transitions are rarely smooth, and few would say that losing a successful coach is a "good situation." However, it seems like everything worked out as well as possible for both Michigan and San Diego State. The fact that Rocky Long stayed allowed the Aztecs to maintain a good sense of continuity, which allowed them to continue the momentum that Hoke established. Brady Hoke might not have been able to bring Long with him as defensive coordinator, but it allowed him to hire Greg Mattison. Hoke went to work trying to bring back Michigan to what it used to be, and Long kept up what Hoke started in San Diego. And as much as the Aztecs appreciate what Hoke did for them, they appreciate Rocky Long's decision even more. He stayed when he just as easily could have gone. The results are that both teams had successful starts to their respective seasons and each is entering the contest at 3-0.

In a game that is likely going to run high with emotion for both sides, San Diego State will face Michigan tomorrow in the Big House. It may prove to be the Wolverines' toughest non-conference game of the season. The Aztecs are coming off an exciting comeback win over Washington State, who recently dominated their opponents offensively despite struggling to put together winning seasons in 2009 and 2010. San Diego State's game against Michigan will be even bigger, in front of 110,000 fans on a stage that many of them have never played before. Will beating Hoke be a factor? The Aztecs say they're more focused on Michigan's players than the coaches.

They might be nervous if they didn't have enough weapons to give the developing Michigan defense headaches. San Diego State's running back, Ronnie Hillman, was a Freshman All-American in 2010 and put up 1,532 total yards and 17 total touchdowns last year. (The Wolverines, on the other hand, haven't had a running back break 1,000 yards in a season since Mike Hart.) Hillman has also been in early Heisman talks.

Meanwhile, San Diego State's quarterback Ryan Lindley has developed into a prototypical pro-style passer under the tutelage of Al Borges (now Michigan's offensive coordinator), and Lindley put up 3,830 total yards and 28 total touchdowns in 2010. He had continued to be effective so far this year and will likely be a fourth or fifth round NFL draft pick. The Aztecs lost their excellent receivers to graduation, but Rocky Long fixed the gap at wide receiver by bringing over Colin Lockett from cornerback, and he has been getting a lot of receptions—enough to where some consider him Lindley's new favorite target.

The Aztec defense, like Michigan's, is a work in progress. Michigan has switched back to 4-3 defensive scheme under Greg Mattison, since the Wolverines could never seem to be effective under the 3-3-5 that Rich Rodriguez insisted then-coordinator Greg Robinson (who had sparse knowledge of the 3-3-5) coach. However, at San Diego State, Rocky Long is the master of the 3-3-5, since he practically invented it. "What Rocky Long has done—and I've been lucky, I've coached with Rocky twice at UCLA and San Diego State, and against him when I was at Oregon, I've seen both sides of him—he's taken a 3-3 concept and created a lot of looks from the 3-3 that makes it hardly recognizable as a 3-3," said Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges. "What seems to be very helter-skelter is not at all. It's a very disciplined style: every guy's in a gap, everyone has a responsibility, coverage is sound, but it's not what you see every week, and that requires a little more preparation. It's almost like facing a wishbone team when you've never seen a wishbone team."

When Brady Hoke was coach of the Aztecs, he allowed Long to run the scheme that Long knew best, and that happened to be the 3-3-5. Hoke has done the same with Mattison and the 4-3. Instead of micromanage, the effect that Hoke brings to his defenses—since Hoke considers himself a defensive-minded coach—is a foundation of fundamentals and technique combined with a strong aspect of physical and mental toughness. This effect, at least early on, appears to be palpable, and it's largely the reason Hoke was successful in rebuilding the program and eventually was offered the Michigan job.

What made Aztec fans so pleased with Rocky Long was that he said he wasn't going to change anything that Hoke cemented. That sense of toughness was going to continue on both sides of the ball. Long also doesn't micromanage his coordinators either. When asked about the differences and difficulties in being a coordinator versus being a head coach, Long answered, "I think there's real problems if you don't trust the guys on the other side of the ball. I think a head coach that is a micromanager cannot do it and if he tries to do it, he's ruining his football team." Long went on to say that what he shares with his coordinators (like Hoke did with him) is a philosophy, a vision of what they'd like to see the team become. While Long serves as his own defensive coordinator, he brought in Andy Ludwig from Cal-Berkeley to be San Diego State's offensive coordinator. (Ludwig runs the same pro-style offense that Borges essentially did, and this continuity has made Aztec fans very happy, and it's one of the main reasons they have started out 3-0.) Long said that Ludwig is in "complete control" over the offense during games, but that their philosophical similarities allow for that coaching trust.

If Michigan fans aren't worried about losing to San Diego State, then they should be. Despite my continued efforts to remind the Michigan faithful that the Aztecs are not to be underestimated, there are still some people who think that Michigan will win simply because we have Denard. However, my point stands: this will not be an easy game. The Aztecs have more than enough motivation to eek out a win on what seems to be an unsuspecting Michigan home crowd, and Rocky Long's strategy ("It doesn't matter what conference you're in; we can play anyone, anywhere, anytime") has allowed them to snap losing streaks against BCS teams. Michigan does have an advantage over San Diego State, if only because Brady Hoke and Al Borges are incredibly familiar with the Aztec personnel and what they like to run. However, the Aztecs' recent trend means that an upset is more than possible.

Thankfully, Michigan's coaches and players aren't overlooking their opponents. Brady Hoke even tried to get the game "un-scheduled" when he first arrived in Ann Arbor. He had been a part of scheduling the game when he was back in San Diego because he thought his Aztec team would be good enough to play Michigan. Now, he's on the other side, and it's starting to feel a little awkward. However, both Hoke and Long have said that "there's no animosity" between them.

The two opposing defenses will have a difficult time containing each other's offenses. Michigan's run defense will struggle against Ronnie Hillman, who constantly seems to make players miss, and San Diego State will have the unenviable task of containing Denard Robinson. Ryan Lindley is also a far more developed passer who will be the best test to Michigan's secondary that they will face before heading into the Big Ten and against such teams as Northwestern and Michigan State, who each rely on heavy passing games.

The good news for both teams is that a loss does not affect either's conference standing. Both Michigan and San Diego State, while they admittedly would be satisfied with a win, have winning their conference as a far greater priority. Moreover, and I've stressed this before, a loss should not be humiliating for either team. Michigan fans should be pleased with how much Hoke has developed the Aztecs and, regardless of how the game ends, what it means for Hoke's new team. Meanwhile, for San Diego State, any result could spark momentum when they return to Qualcomm Stadium for their bout against TCU: a win and they'll want to continue the momentum, a loss and they'll want to get it back.

Both teams should also be pleased with their head coaches. Even if the Aztecs don't defeat Hoke's Wolverines, San Diego State's fans should still be happy to have Rocky Long, who considers himself blessed to have a second chance to be a head coach and who has done a fantastic job with the start of the 2011 season. The Aztecs haven't been 3-0 since 1981, and a lot of that is thanks to what Long has done to keep the consistency of Hoke's foundation. When he was re-introduced as San Diego State's head coach, Long was gracious and thankful for the fans' immediate support.

"I'd like you all to know how excited I am and how proud I am to be a part of the Aztec nation," he said. "And I promise you one thing: we will do everything we can, we will work our butts off to make sure we have a winning football team here that goes to bowl games."

Wolverines Defeat Eagles Handily, but Must Continue to Improve

Hopefully, for Ron English's sake, last Saturday's game will be the last time that Eastern Michigan plays the Wolverines. English has a tough enough time getting wins without scheduling Michigan to boot. There is small upside for Eastern Michigan, however: the payout. EMU's athletic department gets $465,000 for playing Michigan in the Big House.

For the Wolverines, there is little one can analyze from a win that was realistically expected. Although the team got off to another rough start, something which has become a recent trend, Michigan eventually played how it was supposed to and finished 31-3. There should be some praise for the defense, which prevented Eastern Michigan from scoring a single touchdown, but Eastern Michigan is a MAC team. Michigan's offense has struggled to find a rhythm in the beginning. Including all three first games, Michigan has been outscored by opponents 21-0 in the first quarter. (Last week, Notre Dame scored two unanswered touchdowns, and in the first week, Western Michigan scored one.) Michigan's offense has yet to score a single touchdown in the first quarter in any given game this season.

When Michigan's offense found its rhythm, it was effective, but there are some concerns. Offensive coordinator Al Borges seems unafraid to utilize speedy quarterback Denard Robinson's legs when the need arises, and the offense's halfback play has shown that the need arises quite often. The tailbacks do take a great deal of the load off of Denard, but the Wolverines have yet to establish a consistent running game utilizing them.

Across the Michigan fanbase, some people don't feel this is necessarily a bad thing when you have Denard as a threat. In fact, MGoBlog argues that the offense ought to be based on Denard's legs (i.e. his ability to run). However, personally, I get nervous whenever I see Denard take off on a designed run up the middle, because of the chance that Denard will fumble—which he did in the Eastern game—or that he'll get injured.

Michigan simply cannot get away with running Denard so much when the Big Ten schedule hits. I cringed numerous times when Denard ran into Eastern's defensive line and when he got stuffed on several runs. I'm not saying that I think Denard should never run. He is deadliest on the quarterback scramble, when he must create something out of nothing. On those plays, I am significantly less nervous, because Denard frequently gets to the outside, picks up enough yards for a first down or close to it, and then he steps out of bounds before he gets hit. This, I think, is the best use of his athletic ability, whereas having him run up the middle as though he were a halfback is asking for trouble. Michigan is dividing the carrying load between multiple running backs: Fitzgerald Toussiant, Michael Shaw, Vincent Smith, and for the last part of the game, freshman Thomas Rawls. Smith in particular seems the most improved out of all the running backs, although Toussaint and Shaw can consistently pick up good yardage. This is a good sign but it must be tempered with notion that Michigan hasn't hit the meat of the Big Ten schedule, where Michigan's running game will be harshly tested. 

The running backs scarcely put up yards against Notre Dame in the second week, which forced Al Borges to focus more on Denard's running and passing. It was clearly a priority to Borges and Brady Hoke to return some of the focus to Michigan's running backs, but Eastern Michigan, despite how well they may have been prepared under Ron English, cannot be seen as a truly adequate test.

Don't knock the Eagles, however. English has established a good running attack that gave Michigan some trouble in the first half, and it will carry over to the MAC, where they will be more successful. There is an even better indication that the Eastern Michigan program is turning around under Ron English's guidance. They have gained confidence with two wins to start the season, and although they lost to Michigan and play Penn State next week in Happy Valley, the Eagles start their conference play at home against Akron. It will be a far better year for EMU, who have a very good chance of going 4-8 or even 5-7. When the Eagles faced Michigan, they made a game of it. English should be proud of the signs of improvement seen in his team.

And despite the Wolverines winning 31-3 against Eastern Michigan, they'll need to continue to make improvements as well. Play on the field was hardly perfect. Denard Robinson's accuracy in the first quarter was frustrating to watch, as he missed most of his passes and threw an interception. Like against Notre Dame and Western Michigan, he seemed to make better reads and throws as the game progressed, and he racked up a few touchdowns with passes to tight end Kevin Koger and wide receiver Drew Dileo. Denard finished the game with a total of 293 yards, 198 rushing and 95 passing.

Michigan's defense didn't have its bearings early, but eventually they got settled and remained stout. They forced a fumble on EMU's Javonti Greene and recovered it. Michigan safety Thomas Gordon also made a one-handed inception. Jordan Kovacs and Brandin Hawthrone led the team in tackles, and Craig Roh achieved a sack for six yards. Finally, in what was perhaps the most relief for Michigan, placekicker Brendon Gibbons made a 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. The special teams unit has largely been a question mark for the Wolverines, and it's clear Brady Hoke is taking his time with them. You can check out highlights of the game here.

It was a good win for Michigan, but the Wolverines must improve week to week if they expect to be competitive against the upcoming Big Ten teams. Michigan's last remaining non-conference game is against Hoke's previous coaching job before Michigan, San Diego State. The Aztecs have continued the winning ways that Hoke established, and they are now 3-0 after an impressive win over Army and an even more impressive one over Washington State, who previously demolished its last two opponents with its seemingly unstoppable spread offensive attack. When asked about the upcoming game against his former Aztecs, Hoke indicated it wouldn't be easy. "I tell ya, we got our hands full," he said.

San Diego State is stout in its offensive and defensive lines, and it has great weapons in quarterback Ryan Lindley (an effective passer) and tailback Ronnie Hillman, who was named a Freshman All-American last year. With these players Hoke was able to lead the Aztecs to the Poinsettia Bowl in 2010 and win it. When Hoke departed for Michigan, Aztec defensive coordinator Rocky Long took over and has kept the continuity and consistency of Hoke's "toughness-oriented" program. Watching Long's press conferences, you'd think he took over a program that was struggling. He frequently makes sobering statements about the Aztecs' upcoming games, yet the Aztecs continue to win. Long had said that Washington State's offense genuinely "scared" him, because the only offenses his team had faced for the past three games were the triple option, and WSU's spread is the furthest thing from that. He wasn't sure how the team would handle it, but then San Diego State came out and beat WSU 42-24 at home. Long's strategy seems to underplay the upcoming opponent as much as he can before the Aztecs go out and beat them anyway. He has said that Michigan has a "huge advantage" over them because of Brady Hoke's knowledge of the San Diego State team.

That could be true, but if there is in fact a strategy to Long's words, we could be in for an upset. I was already a little nervous about San Diego State coming to Ann Arbor, urging Michigan fans not to expect an easy win in any capacity. Hoke established a program at San Diego State that could easily make it to a bowl game this year, and if Rocky Long continues what Hoke started, they could even contend for the Mountain West Conference title. They'll need to knock off TCU and Boise State to do that, but Hoke came very close to beating them last year, and if the game against Baylor is any indication, TCU may have a tendency to underestimate opponents.

San Diego State's game against Michigan does nothing for their conference play. It will simply be a feel-good win for either team. A win for the Aztecs will make them feel great that Hoke built their program essentially good enough to defeat Rich Rodriguez's, and it may even make them feel better about Hoke leaving. Will it be poetic justice for Hoke's departure? Some Aztec fans will say yes, but Hoke's separation from San Diego was no where near as messy as Rodriguez's was from West Virginia. In fact, most Aztec fans weren't surprised when Hoke left: he had said, after all, that Michigan was his dream job.

The circumstances indicate that a loss to San Diego State should not be humiliating considering how much Hoke has developed the Aztecs. Michigan fans may feel disappointed if they lose to Hoke's old team, but it shouldn't be all that painful. It won't affect Michigan's standing in the Big Ten, nor will it indicate that Hoke has his team moving in the wrong direction. If anything, a loss to San Diego State could bring a begrudging amount of comfort to the Michigan faithful: Hoke built a team that could beat Michigan. If he did that, imagine what he could do for the Wolverines. Contrastingly, a loss for San Diego State should not be damning to their program. They will have to contend against and somehow contain Michigan's Denard Robinson, and Michigan's defense is improving slowly but surely. Neither team will be a push-over. It will be interesting to see how the game plays out.

The Aztecs' offensive line and Ronnie Hillman will prove a good test for Michigan's run defense, which needs to substantially improve if it wishes to withstand the Big Ten. Pass defense isn't great either, but with Michigan's coaches focusing intensely on fundamentals, the Wolverines could do better against the Big Ten this year than they did in 2010. Michigan's first Big Ten match-up shouldn't be too hefty of a challenge as they start with Minnesota at home. The Golden Gophers have struggled but are not incapable, and they admittedly aren't exactly excited about Big Ten play. Michigan goes to Northwestern as their first road test. If they improve week to week, the Wolverines will be ready for Michigan State and, eventually, Ohio State.

Both rivals suffered losses in Week 3, prompting an array of question marks in certain areas. The Spartans' offensive line seems to be experiencing what Michigan's did last year and the year before, and their loss to Notre Dame sent the MSU fanbase into a predictable meltdown. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes' defense is still strong as ever, but they are understandably worried about their situation at quarterback. MSU's and OSU's eventual match-ups with Michigan are as close to as uncertain as possible at this point.

For the Big Ten, the 2011 season is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing. Nebraska, despite starting 3-0, might not be as dominant as we all thought, and Illinois could surprise everyone and become a contender. Michigan, of course, could be one as well. There is no such thing as a sure thing this year.

As much fun as looking at opponents' problems is, the Wolverines need to focus on what they need to do, and that means improvement. Brady Hoke seems to be developing a sense of depth on both sides of the ball, as there doesn't appear to be any egregious weaknesses at any position. Even Denard Robinson, who is considered both dangerously threatening and dangerously problematic, could improve by the time he leads the team into the Big Ten conference.

In 1969, Bo Schembechler was in his first year at Michigan and hit some bumps in the road as his Wolverines lost to No. 9 ranked Missouri and then to Michigan State. Yet he developed the team as the season went on, and when they faced No. 1 ranked Ohio State, they pulled out a spectacular upset that the Maize and Blue still cherish today. Admittedly, Brady Hoke may not be the next Bo Schembechler, but a good indicator of what Hoke can do will be seeing how his team improves. Rodriguez's teams actually seemed to get worse as the season went on—to frustrating and disappointing results. Michigan would start strong in games but then teetered off. Now, they appear to stumble in the beginning before staging a minor comeback and finishing strong. The Wolverines weren't the second-half team under Rodriguez that they appear to be today. This could mean that Hoke is definitively changing Michigan into a better program.

If he is, and if the Wolverines get better with each passing week, it'll make for an interesting season. Moreover, it could make 2011 feel like 1969.